Using social media to recruit the best talent

Traditionally, recruitment has been carried out through the phone, newspaper advertising and word-of-mouth. However, with the increasing use of social media, the recruitment landscape is rapidly changing. Reports show that a staggering 94% of companies are now using, or plan to use social media in the future for their recruitment needs.

Why is social media good for finding talent?

Social media is beneficial for recruitment in a number of ways, but here are just a few key reasons:

Recruiters have access to more people than ever before, providing a wider choice of applicants and more variety. With a larger selection, companies are able to have higher expectations and source more suitable and more qualified candidates.

Job vacancies can be filled quicker. Previously, a company would have waited for the candidate to make the first move. However, with social media, a potential employee can be identified, researched and engaged with, without them even applying or considering a job change.

Companies can look much deeper into a candidate’s personal and professional life, enabling more informed decisions to be made.

As social media is free, companies can save money compared to traditional methods such as newspaper advertising.

How to use social media to recruit new talent?

There is no right or wrong way to use social media for recruitment, however, here are a few tips to help you get started:

LinkedIn:

Connect with people to build your network. Next time you have a vacancy, you have access to a group of relevant people who may be interested in applying.

Post the job on your LinkedIn profile as well as into relevant, active groups.

Use the search feature to find people who are already in similar roles. Connect with them to see if they are interested in your current vacancy.

Upgrade your LinkedIn account for more features. As well as more search filters, you can save your search and be alerted when someone new meets your criteria. You will also get the option to send targeted messages direct to users’ LinkedIn mailboxes (InMail).

Facebook:

Facebook search is more restrictive than LinkedIn, however, you are able to filter by workplace and location.

Message suitable candidates. You can do this without having to become their friend.

Use Facebook to promote your own brand. Set up a Facebook page or group to help showcase what your company is like to work for.

Twitter:

Tweet your job opening and ask people to retweet.

Showcase your brand, showing potential employees why it is a positive place to work and what a career at your company looks like.

Utilise hashtags to help your jobs get seen by more Twitter users. You could add hashtags relating to the job title and description for example #marketing, #administrator, or #graphicdesign or relating to your location such as #London and #Bristol

LONDON

useful information

latest articles

Once upon a time visitors to your website were only coming from one place - their desktop computer. However, today they’re using a variety of different technology to view your site including mobiles, tablets and desktop computers - and it’s likely they’ll...

As part of its righteous mission to make the internet a safer and more secure place for everyone, Google is continually updating its flagship browser ‘Google Chrome’ to encourage enhanced security the world over.